The Regulator for Charities in England and Wales
The legal advisor to these churches is Anthony Collins Solicitors. Anthony Collins have told the Commission that these churches may wish to become CIO’s.
As a concession the Commission has agreed to include these churches in the last phase of the registration programme ie in the summer of 2009 to enable them to consider that option.
However, if it seems clear by late Spring 2009 that the CIO legal form will not be available until the latter part of 2009 we may need to re-consider. The larger churches may then need to register using a currently available legal form and, if they wish to do so, then change to the CIO when it is available.
For further information please contact David Barnes
Email: nazarenedbm@btinternet.com
We are in discussion with both of these churches with a view to having an approved governing document in place by early 2009. When this has been finalised we will start to accept applications for registration beginning with churches with an income over £25,000.
For further information please contact:
Free Church of England
Northern Diocese
Bishop John Fenwick
Email: phoenix51@tiscali.co.uk
Southern Diocese
Bishop Paul Hunt
Email: church@revpaulhunt.wanadoo.co.uk
Independent Methodists
Mr Eric Southwick
Email: accountant@imcgb.org.uk
Many of these churches joined with the URC in the 1980’s. Those that did are covered by the 1996 regulations. For those that did not the umbrella body is the Fellowship of Churches of Christ.
There is another group of churches called the International Churches of Christ (ICC).They were not included within any previous excepting order. Therefore any ICC churches with an income over £5000 have a duty to apply for registration as a charity in the same way as any other charity.
Contact Mr Dan Yarnell
Email: dan.yarnell@blueyonder.co.uk
For those churches that have previously adopted the Reference Deed this is the principal governing document. It governs a single charity consisting of the church building and its funds. For such charities the governing document for the purpose of registration is the Reference Deed.
Where a church has NOT adopted the Reference Deed it should have a specific property trust deed that may or may not include the working funds of the church.
If the property trust deed does not include the working funds then it will be sufficient for the church to adopt the model constitution and to register the charity consisting of the working funds of the church.
If the property trust deed does include the working funds then the property trust deed is the governing document for the charity needing to apply for registration.
We will begin the registration programme in early 2009 for these churches with an income over £25,000.
For further information contact
Colin Braithwaite
Email: gen.sec@thewru.co.uk